CKE issued 6.6 year debt rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s
yielding 4.50 percent, the person said. This deal marks the
first so-called whole-business, asset-backed offering for the
Carpinteria, California-based company, according to a person
familiar with the transaction, who asked not to be identified
because terms aren’t public.

Companies have sold about $50 billion in bonds tied to
consumer and business borrowing this year, with deals linked to
automobiles accounting for $21 billion in sales, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg. Issuance of deals that reference
unusual collateral such as franchisee fees, wireless cell phone
towers and timeshare payments are poised to climb as investors
seek out riskier assets with the Federal Reserve holding its
benchmark lending rate close to zero into a fifth year.

American Tower Corp., the owner and operator of wireless
and broadcast communications sites, sold $1.8 billion of
securities tied to wireless towers on March 6, Bloomberg data
show. The 10-year portion of the sale ranked AAA priced to yield
3.089 percent, the data show.

Ford Motor Co. (F) sold 2.71-year bonds rated BBB linked to
auto debt, the largest part of the asset-backed market, to yield
1.797 percent on March 12, Bloomberg data show.

Esoteric Deals

Other companies that have tapped the asset-backed market to
fund their businesses with transactions similar to CKE’s include
Sonic Corp. and Domino’s Pizza Inc., the data show.

So-called esoteric asset-backed deals, which are offerings
linked to collateral outside of the auto loans, credit-cards and
student loans that have traditionally accounted for the bulk of
sales, gained attention in 1997 when banks arranged $55 million
of so-called Bowie Bonds, tied to royalties from rock icon David Bowie. Other musicians that have tapped the asset-backed market
for cash include James Brown and the Isley Brothers, according
to Moody’s.

Columbia Lake Acquisition Holdings Inc., an affiliate of
Leon Black’s Apollo, acquired CKE in July 2010, according to a
statement. Barclays Plc arranged the transaction for CKE, the
person said.